How to make gorgeous fruit sushi for dessert

Rowena Dumlao-Giardina resides in Italy, cooking and photographing her family's interesting meals on Apron and Sneakers. After moving to Italy in 1999 from the Philippines, she has traveled extensively around the country and the rest of ...

A fun way to combine sushi and dessert

Sushi for dessert? That's right — fruit sushi. You'll have fun making them and, most of all, have fun eating them too.

Sushi, as we are all accustomed to, is made of rice, fish and vegetables. With this dessert, I had a ball creating different kinds of fruit sushi. Not only were they so much fun to create, but they were also wonderful to look at all lined up on a wooden platter. And the best part? The reaction they got.

I made three kinds of fruit sushi, all quite simple to prepare, so don't be intimidated, especially with these step-by-step photos to guide you.

Strawberry and kiwi sushi balls

In making these sushi balls, you will have to break out your knife skills, slicing the fruits as thinly as possible. If they are a tad thick, they tend to crack and will not take the round shape.

You will need several pieces of plastic wrap to shape the sushi into perfect balls. Start by laying the plastic wrap on the table, then place the strawberries in the middle (same with kiwi), and top with the rice. If you want to be precise with the size of the balls, then weigh the rice. I use 0.7 ounces, but you can also just use 1 to 1-1/2 tablespoons.

When that is done, collect the edges of the plastic wrap, and twist them until the sushi is shaped into a compact ball. Squeeze the sushi a little bit (but not too tight).

Unwrap the plastic wrap, and carefully extract the sushi ball. Place it on the serving plate, and top with a small mint leaf. Top the kiwi sushi balls with a wild strawberry, red currants or anything with a contrasting color.

Strawberry sushi rolls

Among the three kinds of sushi, this is probably the one that looks like real sushi. I love sushi with tuna. It's a classic, and I can eat way too much if you don't stop me. This strawberry sushi roll is a copy of my favorite sushi.

Like any sushi roll, you will need a sushi rolling mat. Cover it with plastic wrap, and put the rice in the middle of the mat. Flatten and spread it out evenly. Then place the strawberries in the middle of the rice. Strips work better, but since I still had some thinly sliced strawberries, I used them instead.

Next, start rolling. Tighten as much as you can so the rice will not crumble when you slice.

Unwrap the plastic wrap, and slice with a very sharp knife. Don't worry if they don't come out as perfectly as you want them to. Just pat them back into shape after slicing.

Now the fun part. On a saucer with the sesame seeds, roll the sushi on its side (not the top or bottom). And now you have sushi number two.

Banana and peanut butter sushi rolls

The flavors of these rolls were inspired by my love of peanut butter, bananas, coconut and chocolate. Put them all together in one bite-size dessert, and it's heavenly. You can also replace the peanut butter with Nutella or a chocolate spread.

Slice the banana to bite sizes, between 1-1/2 to 2 inches in length. Note that with one bite, the peanut butter can be overpowering if you make the banana slices too long. Using an apple corer, make holes in the centers of the banana pieces. You won't be needing the middle part that you removed, so you can munch on them while preparing the rolls.

Fill the holes carefully with the peanut butter, and then sprinkle with the coconut flakes and chocolate balls. The peanut butter tends to stick to the plate, and the bananas are slippery, so be careful when you take them off the plate. Just tilt them a bit, and support the lower part to keep the sushi intact.

1

Strawberry and kiwi sushi ball recipe

Yields 8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup sushi rice

1-1/2 cups coconut milk (plus more if adjustment is needed)

2 tablespoons white sugar

1 cup strawberries, hulled

2 kiwifruits, peeled

4 fresh mint leaves

4 wild strawberries (or any small red fruit for garnish)

Directions:

To a small saucepan over high heat, add the rice, coconut milk and sugar. Once boiling, simmer on the lowest heat for 18 to 20 minutes or until tender. Mix once in a while. Let cool.

Slice the strawberries and kiwifruits as thinly as possible with a sharp knife. Set them aside.

Using a square piece of plastic wrap, distribute the strawberries (or kiwi) in the middle, leaving a 3- to 4-inch parameter all around them.

Top the strawberries (or kiwi) at the center with 1-1/2 tablespoons of rice.

Close the plastic wrap, and form a ball. Twist the plastic wrap to tighten around the fruit and rice.

Carefully unwrap the plastic wrap from the sushi ball.

Garnish with mint or wild strawberries.

2

Strawberry sushi roll recipe

Yields 8

Ingredients:

1/2 cup rice

1-1/2 cups coconut milk

2 tablespoons white sugar

1/2 cup strawberries, hulled

1/4 cup black sesame seeds

Directions:

In a small saucepan over high heat, add the rice, coconut milk and sugar. Once boiling, simmer on the lowest heat for 18 to 20 minutes or until tender. Mix once in a while. Let cool.

Cover the sushi rolling mat with plastic wrap.

Put the rice in the middle of the rolling mat covered with plastic wrap, and then put the strawberries on top of the rice at the center.

Roll the sushi with the help of the sushi mat. Tighten with the help of the plastic wrap to achieve a compact cylinder. Unwrap the plastic wrap.

With a sharp knife, slice the rice to bite sizes.

On a saucer, pour the sesame seeds, and then roll the sides of the sushi on it.

3

Banana and peanut butter sushi roll recipe

Yields 8

Ingredients:

1 large banana, peeled

1/4 cup peanut butter (can be replaced with Nutella or a chocolate spread)